Rogers stands behind its Internet advertising as fastest and most reliable

TORONTO - Rogers Communications Inc. (TSX:RCI.B) says it will defend advertising claims that its Internet service is the "fastest and most reliable" in Atlantic Canada, despite a court challenge by a regional competitor that wants to see the ads withdrawn.

"We stand behind our advertising, which is based on rigorous, independent testing throughout Rogers Atlantic footprint, and not just one area or location," Rogers spokeswoman Odette Coleman said Tuesday

The comments come after Bell Aliant (TSX:BA.UN), Atlantic Canada's largest phone company, asked a New Brunswick court to stop Rogers from making the claims about its high-speed Internet service.

Bell Aliant has said the claims are misleading, describing its own broadband Internet service as the most advanced and the fastest.

Neither side's claims have been proven in court.

Bell Aliant has said previously that it plans to expand its advanced broadband network this year to bring fibre-optic technology to more residential customers.

The company expects the advanced technology, which provides some of the fastest speeds available for Internet and high-definition TV services, to cover more than 140,000 more homes by the end of the year in New Brunswick.

Bell Aliant announced Monday that it was asking the court for an immediate injunction against Rogers to bar it from claiming to have the region's fastest home Internet offering.

Rogers was forced last year to pull ads saying it had Canada's most reliable wireless network after it was sued by Vancouver-based Telus Corp., the country's second-largest phone company

Telus argued successfully in a B.C. court that the claims to superiority couldn't be supported after a new advanced wireless network was launched last November by Telus and Montreal-based BCE Inc., which is a major shareholder in Bell Aliant.